Project margin calculator for creative studios
Enter the fee and who worked on the project. See the margin, the break-even fee and the fee you needed to hit your target.
The project
The team’s time
Hours each person works on the project, and what an hour of their time costs you (cost rate, not bill rate). The rows are example figures. Replace them with yours.
Your margin
23.6%
A$10,600 margin, below your 30.0% target.
- Labour cost
- A$31,900
- Total cost
- A$34,400
- Total hours
- 360h
- Cost per hour
- A$96
- Fee per hour
- A$125
- Break-even fee
- A$34,400
- Fee for a 30.0% margin
- A$49,143
How the sums work
- Cost = hours × cost rate for each person, plus other direct costs.
- Margin = fee − cost. Margin % = margin ÷ fee.
- Break-even fee = total cost.
- Fee for a target margin = cost ÷ (1 − target).
For the reasoning behind each step, read how to calculate project margin in a creative studio and cost rate vs bill rate.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate project margin?
Project margin is the fee minus the cost of delivering the project, divided by the fee. Cost is each person's logged hours multiplied by their cost rate, plus any direct costs such as stock, print or freelancers. A project with a A$45,000 fee and A$30,000 of cost has a margin of A$15,000, which is 33.3%.
What is a cost rate?
A cost rate is what an hour of a person's time costs your studio, including salary and on-costs, not what you charge the client. Margin needs the cost rate. The bill rate only tells you the price of an hour.
What is the break-even fee?
The break-even fee is the fee at which the project makes no profit, which equals the total cost of the project. Any fee above it is margin, and any fee below it is a loss.
How is the fee for a target margin worked out?
Divide the total cost by one minus the target margin. For a 30% target and A$30,000 of cost, the fee is 30,000 ÷ 0.7, which is about A$42,857.
Does this calculator store my figures?
No. The sums run in your browser and nothing is sent or saved.